Halloween in Radiator Springs
by MereMcQueen314
Summary: It starts as a normal Halloween party on a normal Halloween night. But it turns out to be something no one expected. Is this just a prank, or is there really a 'Radiator Springs Terror? Companion to Life's Highway, Pre-reading not nessacary, but mild spoilers to before chapter 52 of LH. Multiple pairings.
1. Chapter 1

**Another new fic from** _moi._ **This will probably only be two chapters long. I always thought about what happened in Radiator Springs when October 31st rolled around. How about you? **

**This story is a companion with Life's Highway, but if you've read up to chapter 52, there are no spoilers. **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Halloween in Radiator Springs ••• Part **

It was a chilly October day. October thirty-first to be exact. Sally was three months pregnant with Eric, and just starting to show. Flo was planning a special Halloween party at the cafe that night, (okay, Mia and Tia arranged it and invited everyone behind her back.) and Sally was trying to find a Halloween costume that she could fit in. She was digging through her closet, looking through her clothing AND Lightning's.

Lightning already had plans for what he was wearing, but he wouldn't tell her.

Suddenly, upon finding a dark purple cloth scarf, Sally got an idea.

* * *

Lightning was at Mater and Holley's house, and they'd just both finished getting ready. Mater was going as a scarecrow, Holley was going as a witch, and Lightning was going as Doc. He had 'borrowed' one of Doc's doctors coats, his stethoscope, his shoes, and his glasses. Alice agreed to helping him collect these items, and she'd put makeup on him to give him a few wrinkles. Lightning was considering himself a genius for coming up with this, and he couldn't wait to see Sally's reaction. Or Doc's reaction for that matter. Oh, this would be a night to remember.

* * *

Chick arrived home that afternoon around four. The party started at eight when it got dark, and Chick had just gone and bought a costume for Maria, who was eight and a half months pregnant with Chase. She had been a little upset because she didn't have a costume, so Chick had gone out to find one. And boy, did he find one.

"Maria?" He called, entering the house. "I'm home!"

Maria entered the room. "You don't say." she said, then smiled. "Did you find one?"

Chick brought her over to the table and handed her the box. "You bet I did."

Maria eagerly lifted the lid of the box and looked inside, but what she saw completely killed her good mood.

"You did not!" She said to Chick who was awaiting her reaction.

"What, Don't you like it?" He asked.

Maria lifted up the tee shirt. The orange tee shirt. The maternity tee shirt. The orange, maternity tee shirt, designed to make her very pregnant stomach look like a pumpkin.

Chick saw the slap coming before her palm connected with his cheek. "I had that coming to me, didn't I?"

* * *

Lightning walked into the back door of his and Sally's house and called up the stairs for her. "Hey, Sally? You about ready?"

He felt a tap on his shoulder and turned to see his wife dressed up as a fortune teller. She had a long brown skirt on that touched the floor, a white top that had puffed sleeves, and a purple silk scarf was wrapped around her shoulders. She wore huge golden hoop earrings, seven bracelets on each arm, and her wavy black hair was tied back with a flower comb.

But her face wore an expression of shock.

"Oh my gosh!" She exclaimed, looking at Lightning's costume. "You're Doc!"

Lightning laughed. "Yep. Is this not genius?!"

Sally's eyes widened. "He is going to be so mad."

Lightning nodded. "I know." He took her hand and they walked outside together. "Let's go."

* * *

The air was crisp and cold outside that night as the townsfolk arrived at the cafe. Most of the lights were dimmed, but lanterns hung overhead. There were fake spiderwebs, eerie music played, and bats swung from strings on the ceiling. Everyone had really gone all out with the costumes. Mia and Tia were vampires, Ramone and Flo were hippies (and so was Fillmore), Linda and Strip were a king and a queen, while little Justin was dressed as a pirate.

Sarge didn't dress up, but he was present. Alice was dressed up in her normal doctor's coat, but she'd put on green eye shadow, tons of other makeup, and now looked like a monster doctor. Doc sat beside Alice, in his normal clothing, but his glasses were gone.

When he saw Sally and Lightning enter the building, he walked over to them. Then he saw Lightning's costume.

"Lightning!"

Lightning cringed and attempted to duck behind Sally.

* * *

After about twenty minutes, Sally and Lightning sat down for dinner across from Maria and Chick.

Dinner was hot dogs, hamburgers, and party foods.

A few games had been played already: Bobbing for apples, pin the wart on the witch, etc. but the best game was to be played in a few moments: 'Hug, Slap, or Kiss'.

The rules were simple: Someone starts by spinning bottle. You spin it until it lands on a girl. She chooses one guy to hug, one to slap, and one to kiss. Simple, right?

Everyone was almost finished eating, when Chick turned to Maria and nudged her. "You want anything else to eat, 'Pumpkin'?"

Maria smiled. "I'd hit you, but I don't want to be reported for animal abuse."

Chick widened his eyes and Lightning laughed, causing Chick to glare at him. Then Chick looked back at his wife. "That's cold, Maria."

She nodded. "Yep. Like my side of the bed tonight when I go sleep in the guest room."

"What are you so mad about?" Chick asked, bewildered.

"The face that you bought me a shirt designed to imply my, erm, weight gain."

Chick smiled and leaned closer to her. "If it bothers you so much, you can always take it off." He murmured in her ear.

"We are in public, for god's sake, Chick!" Maria shouted, punching his arm.

Sally leaned over to Lightning who was watching the argument intently. "Don't they have a wonderful relationship?" She asked sarcastically.

Lightning began choking on his dinner.

* * *

The bottle spun and landed pointing at Sally, who blushed and stood up. Crap. Now what?

'Hug', She thought and weighed her options, then walked over to Doc and gave him a side hug. He ruffled her hair, much to her annoyance.

'Slap'. That would be easy.

Chick saw it coming. Lightning laughed,, then Sally approached him and pressed her lips to his.

She began to pull away, but he grabbed her around the waist and pulled her closer.

"Get a room!" Chick said in disgust. "Sheesh."

Sally slapped him again.

* * *

After the game, everyone was sitting around and just hanging out, when suddenly the lights went off and thunder crashed. Lightning felt Sally tense up beside him. She was terrified of storms at night. It was all quiet, everyone startled. But then the eerie noise of a pipe organ was heard, and green luminescent fog began to fill the room.

"Flo, what's going on?" Maria, clinging to Chick's arm, asked.

Flo was shaking and standing beside Ramone. Mia and Tia were clinging to each other nearby.

"I don't know, honey." Flo answered.

"It's the ghostlight!" Mater exclaimed, ducking behind Holley.

"I AM THE RADIATOR SPRINGS TERROR!" A booming voice filled the room and a tall specter appeared, floating above the doorway. "RETURN WHAT WAS MINE, OR YOU'LL ALL PAY! STARTING WITH HIM!" He said, pointing a long, bony finger at Lightning. "BRING ME THE TREASURE AND I WILL NO LONGER HAUNT THIS PLACE. YOU HAVE TWO HOURS."

A piece of paper fluttered to the ground, and by the looks of it, it was a map. The lights then went back out and the fog disappeared.

All was quiet until they heard a

blood-curdling scream.

* * *

**Who screamed? What happened? What will happen next? Who's the mysterious specter? Will they find the treasure in time? Is there really a ghost, or is this some childish prank? Tune in next time to find out. **

**Mere**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2! Thanks for reading so far. Only one more chapter to go. **

**This one is shorter than the previous one, sorry. **

* * *

_A blood curdling scream was heard._

Suddenly the lights flicked back on and they saw that Mia had disappeared. Tia stumbled back. "Oh my gosh!" She screamed. "She's just... Gone!"

Flo put an arm around the younger girl. "We'll find her, okay honey?"

"Okay. What is going on?" Doc asked the room. "Is this some kind of a prank?"

Everyone shook their heads and murmured answers.

"What do they want with Lightning?" Chick asked, his arm around Maria. "I wouldn't want anything to do with him."

Lightning glared at Chick and then walked over and picked up the paper that had fluttered to the ground. After studying it for a moment, his expression became baffled.

"Radiator Springs has a mine?" He asked.

Sally looked over his shoulder. "There's a red 'X' marked over it. That must be where we're supposed to go."

"You know, " Sheriff started, "They say that mine is haunted. By the Radiator Springs Terror. Legend has it that one day a man and his daughter were in one of the old mine shafts. Suddenly, an eerie noise was heard. A ghostly glow rose behind them. And the last sound they ever heard was a screech as loud as the crashing of thunder. And that is the last sound that anyone who ever goes into that mine, hears. The screech of Terror'."

There was a tension-filled silence. What were they to do now?

* * *

Twenty minutes later, flashlights in hand, the townsfolk were making their way along an old footpath that led towards the mine. The full moon shone down over them, bright orange. An eerie chill was in the night air. An owl hooted in the distance. Leaves crunched underfoot. Finally they arrived at the mine. A 'Do Not Enter' sign hung over the entrance. The sign was falling apart, hanging by a signal nail. It's paint was chipped and the wood was splintered. It's words of warning were nearly faded.

"Now what?" Lightning asked, breaking the silence. "Are we just supposed to search this thing mindlessly till we find something resembling a treasure?"

"That may be our only option, Soldier." Sarge said.

"No." Doc said. "Look. Footprints. Fresh ones."

They looked to see that there was indeed a set of fresh footprints in the dust. They led to a secluded area a few dozen paces away. After following the prints, they found a patch of newly tossed dirt. "Lightning, give me that shovel." Doc said.

He began to dig with the shovel until there was a loud 'thunk'. Doc reached into the hole and pulled out a small box.

"That was easy." Chick said.

Doc began to fumble with the lock. "Sally, shine that light over here, will you?"

Sally shone her flashlight's beam onto the box, and within a few more minutes, Doc was able to open it. Inside the box was... Another paper.

"Dude..." Fillmore said slowly. "Like what a rip-off, man."

Doc sighed and unfolded the paper. It was a map of the mine-shafts. Once again, a red 'X' was marked on the map.

Doc looked up at the group. It was late at night. Everyone was getting tired. Was this just some sort of a wild goose chase?

Doc stood up and faced the group. "Alright. Why don't we take a vote. Anyone in favor of continuing the search, traveling into the 'haunted' mine, say aye."

A few 'Ayes' were heard.

"And everyone in favor of going home and getting some sleep, Say Aye."

"Aye!" Most everyone else in the group shouted.

"You are dismissed." Doc said to those leaving. After they filed away, those left were Alice, himself, Lightning, Sally, Tia, Chick, Maria, Ramone, and Flo.

"Alright." Lightning said, taking a flashlight and assuming position of a confident leader. "Let's go find that treasure."

* * *

Equipped with ropes, flashlights, and shovels, the group made their way into the mine. This place had obviously not been used in a long time. All the tools were covered in dust and some of the shafts were collapsed.

Doc turned to everyone. "Alright. I'm going to warn you all, this place is very dangerous. It could collapse on our heads at any time. So be careful."

They all nodded in agreement and proceeded to follow Doc as he led then deeper inside. Lightning pulled Sally closer to him, and she was grateful. She was a little scared of the dark. And Lightning wasn't feeling to confident about coming into this old mine. He wasn't scared, just... Cautious.

They were walking the path in silence, when all the sudden they heard a squeak. For there, on the ceiling of the mine was, ... An entire flock of bats.

"No sudden moves." Doc said slowly.

Chick, who had been falling behind, bumped into Lightning, who was looking up at the ceiling. Chick squinted to see what everyone was gaping at. Then he saw them. "Oh my God!" He exclaimed.

The bats all began squeaking and flying around, and Chick let out a very girly shriek. "Help!" He screamed, ducking behind Maria. "Save me!"

Once the bats had all flown out of the cave, everyone turned and glared at Chick, who immediately started dusting off Maria's tee-shirt, her giving him a 'WTF' look. "There." He said, then turned to everyone with a proud look on his face. "I saved her."

Everyone just rolled their eyes.

* * *

Half an hour later, they had followed the map to the red 'X'. A huge hole in the ground. An empty mine shaft opening. The treasure HAD to be down there. "Well?" Doc asked the group. "Who's volunteering to go down?"

Sally raised her hand. "I'll go."

Chick smirked. "Sorry, Sal. But the rope won't hold the weight of two people." He joked, referring to her pregnancy.

Lightning grimaced. "Bad move, Chick." He said upon seeing Sally's enraged look.

Doc shook his head. "Thanks for volunteering, but I'd rather send someone else."

Everyone looked at each other and Lightning stepped forward. "It's me they want." He said with a deep passion. "I'll go."

"What are you? In a movie?!" Sally asked.

There were a few chuckles. After Lightning was secured to the ropes, Doc, Chick, and Ramone all held on to it and began lowering it. Suddenly, Chick stopped holding on with both hands. "Hey, Lightning?"

"What?"

"You realize that I could let go at any time, right? And it wouldn't matter to me?"

"What?! What are you talking about?!"

Sally's hands curled into fists and she got up in Chick's face. "It would matter to ME." She said angrily. "Now you help lower him down there, or I will personally murder you myself." Sally threatened.

Chick gulped and took hold of the rope once again.

After a few minutes of silence, a shout was heard. "Hey! I found it! It's really heavy! Pull me up!"

Chick, Doc, and Ramone began pulling and heaving the rope.

Finally they pulled Lightning up, and Lightning was carrying a huge chest. They began trying to open it, but the lock was solid. It wouldn't budge.

"Now what do we do?" Tia asked.

Suddenly a deep rumbling noise was heard and the mine began to shake.

"We get out of here." Doc said, lifting the chest with Ramone's help.

And everyone ran for the exit as dust and rubble began falling down around them.

But they did not all make it out.

* * *

One more chp to go!


	3. Chapter 3

**Halloween in Radiator Springs- Part 3.**

**Okay, sorry guys. This will actually have four chapters, instead of three.**

* * *

**_But they did not all make it out..._**

Finally the dust settled and everyone regained their breath and stood up. Suddenly Lightning realized something. "Sally!" He called. "Sally!... Oh my god. She didn't make it out!"

"Where's Chick?!" Maria asked looking around. "Oh no.."

"Tia's not here either." Flo said.

Doc looked over at Lightning. "They didn't make it out?"

Lightning, trying to stay calm, shook his head. They looked back at the entrance to the mine. It was completely filled with rocks.

Lightning ran towards the entrance and began lifting the rocks. "Come on, guys! Help me."

He lifted a rock from the bottom of the pile and a few fell from the top. Upon seeing this, Doc stopped Lightning. "If you move those rocks, you could cause more to fall on them. Don't move any more."

Lightning sat on a rock. "Now what do we do?"

Doc did not know.

* * *

Sally coughed after all the dust settled. And found herself completely submersed in darkness. There was something heavy on her back, pinning her down. Sally coughed again. It was so scary! She couldn't see anything or make out any shapes.

"Sally?" A male voice said from nearby. "Is that you?"

"Yeah..." And then she recognized the voice. "Chick?"

"Yeah. It's me." He replied. "Where are you?"

"I'm over here in the floor." She replied. "There's something pinning me down."

There was the sound of a match striking something, and then there was light. "Hey, you found light." Sally said with a smile. She couldn't turn her head to see where he was.

"Yeah. There was a box of candles aways back, and I took a few. Glad I did."

Sally realized something. "Chick, let me see the candle. Move in front of me."

Chick did, and Sally saw what she was fearing most. "Chick, that's dynamite!"

Chick suddenly realized what he'd done and he hastily began trying to blow out the candle. Sally reached up and pulled the wick out of it, then blew it out. Okay, so it was dark again, but at least they weren't about to be blown up.

Sally sighed, then felt the rock being lifted off her back, and arms pulled her to her feet. "Thanks." She said to Chick.

"Whatever." Sally heard him say. "Are- Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm alright."

They both sat down on rocks and waited in silence. "So... Now what?" Chick asked.

Sally sighed. "We wait."

Sally moved her hand towards the ground, but felt something soft. She reached down, feeling it. It felt like human hair!

"Chick, can you light a match? Not a 'candle' but a match?"

Chick did, and once the small shaft was lit up, Sally saw what she'd felt. "It's Tia!" She exclaimed.

Tia's body was half covered by rocks and there were scratches and cuts on her arm. A large gash went from one side of her forehead to the other and blood was pouring from it. She was unconscious.

* * *

Doc snapped his phone shut and walked back over to the group. "Okay, I called sheriff. He has a map of the mines and he said that he thinks he remembers some alternate entrances. He's going to be here in ten."

Doc looked at the entrance of the mine where Lightning and Maria were calling Sally, Tia, and Chick's names. Lightning turned to Doc with a look of desperation. "They can't hear us." He said, his voice hoarse from shouting.

Doc sat down on an old bench and he put his head in his hands. "Cellphone." He said, looking up suddenly. "Doesn't Sally have her cellphone with her?"

Lightning caught on immediately and dialed Sally's number.

* * *

"Come on, Tia." Sally was saying. "You've got to stay awake."

They'd gotten Tia uncovered from the rocks and she was lying on the hard ground. Sally was just about sure that Tia had a concussion. If she fell asleep now, she might go into a coma.

"But I'm... So... Tired..." Tia said, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Tia, come on." Sally said desperately. "Please stay awake." she looked over at Chick, who was trying not to be burned by the matches. "What do we do?" She asked.

Chick looked up at her. "You said it yourself. We wait."

Suddenly a ringing broke the silence. "Are you ringing?" Chick asked Sally.

She pulled her phone out of her pocket. "Lightning?" She asked incredulously.

"Hey!" Lightning's voice said. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine and Chick is..." She wanted to say 'mentally challenged', but decided against it. "Well, he's alive. Tia is down here too. And she's hurt. I think she has a concussion."

"Well, the sheriff just got here and I think we have a way to get you guys out. You're going to have to follow my instructions VERY carefully, okay?"

"Okay."

* * *

Lightning navigated Sally, Chick, and Tia through the mine shafts for the next half hour. Finally, they arrived at the bottom of the alternate entrance. An elevator shaft.

Lightning directed them to climb inside the old elevator. As they did, it shook slightly. The metal was old and rusted and creaked upon being stepped on. The shaft stopped miles below them. They were on the highest level in the mine. Chick climbed into the elevator, followed by Tia, stumbling slightly, dizzy, and nearly passed out. But Sally stopped.

"Come on, Sally." Chick urged. "Hurry, do we can get out of here."

"I... I can't get in there." Sally, voice shaking, said. "I have... Claustrophobia."

Chick reached out and took her hand. "Come on. It'll be fine."

Sally reluctantly let him lead her inside. "See?" Chick said. "No problem here. And look." he motioned up with his finger.

Looking up, Sally could see a grate covering the opening hole up at the top. Looking through it, she could see the silhouette of Lightning and Doc.

"How are we supposed to get up there?!" Sally called up to them, well above her.

"The elevator isn't sturdy enough to raise." Doc started. "You're going to have to climb on top of it. We have a crane up here and we're going to lower harnesses. Send Tia up first so we can get her medical attention, okay?"

"Alright." Chick called back, then pulled his Swiss army knife out of pocket, beginning to use the screwdriver on the elevator roof hinges. Once he'd done that, he pulled the lid down into the elevator with them. Then he climbed out. Sally lifted Tia up to him, then struggled to climb out, herself. Finally they were all standing on the roof of the shaft. "Okay!" Sally called. "We're ready!"

Up above ground, they began slowly lowering the harnesses with the crane.

Sally grabbed the harness, then with Chick's help, got Tia into it. "Okay!" Sally called. "Tia is in the harness!"

Mater, controlling the crane arm, began raising it, slowly and carefully. Once it reached the top, Flo and Ramone quickly gathered Tia into their car and took her to the hospital.

Mater began lowering the harness again. It came down slowly. Finally they could reach it. Chick took hold of the harness, but just as he did, the elevator gave a mighty creak and swung to one side. A rumble was heard from deeper in the mine.

"Sally!" Chick shouted. "Give me your hand!"

But it was too late. The cable snapped, and the elevator plunged into the darkness.

* * *

Okay. ONE more chapter after this.


	4. Chapter 4

**Kay, final chapter guys. Thanks for all the reviews! You're all so awesome! **

**Halloween in Radiator Springs- Part 4.**

* * *

_And the elevator plunged into darkness..._

Sally grasped the thick tree root that she'd managed to take hold of, and she kicked desperately for a foothold. She only fallen a few feet, thank God. She had managed to grab at the wall when the cables snapped, and her hand caught a tree root. The elevator fell into the the old shaft, landing with a barely audible crash.

"Sally, can you reach me?" Chick asked, handing from the harness.

Sally's left foot hit against a rocky ledge and she stepped onto it. Then she reached up and tried to take hold of Chick's hand. She couldn't reach.

"Lower me more!" Chick called up to those above ground. The crane slowly lowered him a few feet till he was even with Sally.. Chick wrapped the harness around himself, then took Sally's hand. "Jump."

"Are you insane?!" Sally asked incredulously.

"Probably. But jump. I'll catch you, I promise. If I didn't, Maria would kill me." Chick replied.

"Come on, Sally!" Lightning called down. "You'll be fine. Jump!"

Sally shut her eyes tight, held her breath, and jumped.

As promised, Chick DID catch her. "Pull us up!" He shouted, and within five minutes, they were above ground again.

* * *

It was late at night. And it was time to find out who was behind this whole thing.

Lightning and Doc carried the un-openable chest into Flo's cafe, and set it on the ground, near where the terror had first appeared. Everyone else filed into the cafe with them.

It was silent for five nerve-wracking minutes.

Then the eerie lights reappeared, the organ music was heard, and the booming voice startled everyone.

"GOOD. GOOD. YOU'VE BROUGHT ME MY TREASURE. BRING IT TO ME." The Terror commanded, holding out his hands.

Doc and Lightning exchanged a glance, took three steps with the chest towards the specter, then tackled him!

After wrestling the specter for a few minutes, a shout was heard from it. "Watch it! I'm ticklish!"

And they ALL recognized that voice.

"SNOT ROD?!"

* * *

"One question. Why?" Doc asked the four punk teens who were now sitting on a bench in front of him. The other townsfolk stood around them, all wondering that exact question.

"We didn't mean any harm, dude." Wingo, treasure map and clue maker, said. "We just wanted to see if we could actually pull a prank on you guys."

"Yeah! And it worked!" DJ, organ music creator and treasure burier, added.

"It was awesome, man." Boost, lights and fog electrician, continued.

"But we didn't mean for anyone to get hurt. A-CHOO!" Snot Rod said in a nasally voice.

Doc sighed. "You boy's little 'prank' nearly got Tia and Sally killed. You're sentenced with forty hours of community service, apiece."

They all sighed and Chick stepped forward. "One more question. What was in the treasure chest?"

Wingo tossed a key to Chick, who went and unlocked it... To reveal... Candy. An entire treasure chest full of candy.

Snot Rod sighed. "We knew that if we came trick-or-treating at your guy's houses, you'd turn us away. A-CHOO! So, we put all this candy in the chest, buried it in the mine, and sent you to bring it to us. A-CHOO!"

"Why didn't you just eat the candy?" Sally asked. "Why take the trouble to bury it?"

Boost opened his mouth to reply, but then he took in her words. "Dude.." He murmured, facepalming. "Cause it was more fun this way." He answered.

Everyone exchanged glances, then Flo stepped forward. "Where's Mia?"

Wingo shrugged. "She's at our house. My GF didn't mind getting kidnapped by me for awhile. It was fun." He said with a raise of his eyebrows, implying something.

Everyone shook their heads in frustration. Well, it had been another Halloween in Radiator Springs.

**THE END.**

* * *

That was so fun to write. :-) thanks for taking the time to read and review!

KA-CHOW!


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